The cake gets it's own post? YEP! I spent more time making this cake than I did being in labor with Lorelai! (Okay, that's a little dramatic. I was only in labor for 5 1/2 hours.) This cake took about 8 hours. I know that if I had just done it all at once with no interference it would have gone a lot faster, but that's the joy of motherhood!
Anyway! I looked online for a long time trying to find the best way to make this cake. Some people just made a bunch of rounds, stacked them on top of each other, and then cut the gown shape. None of those looked very good and I am not good at that kind of thing anyway. I bought the
Wonder Mold Pan from Wilton.
Unfortunately, if you want to put a real Barbie in the middle it's not tall enough. I found that out by reading the reviews
here (thank you Lori for this link. It totally saved me). So I added a 9in. round to the bottom and it was the perfect height!
When I finished crumb coating the cake (at 3:00 in the morning) I needed somewhere to put it. I was so afraid the kids would get up before me (which they did) and eat the cake (luckily, they didn't) so I put it as high as I could in the most inconspicuous place I could find. See it?
The kids saw it too. Luckily, Lorelai wouldn't let Reid near it and I woke up right after they did so it stayed safe! We spent the day playing and then I spent from late afternoon to the evening mixing (I have totally converted to gel food coloring because it's awesome!), rolling, placing, and cutting the fondant. Lorelai spent a lot of time advising me during this process.
I let her help smooth the fondant because (like everyone says) fondant shows EVERY little bump. She is a multi-tasker like me! Talking to Aunt Lori while she works.
Fondant DONE!
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long hair!
Finally we finished! It was so worth it! I can still see things I would change or do differently, but I think it turned out great for our first fondant cake! And my princess LOVED it. Also, I'm very glad we had extra batter and I made those cupcakes! I didn't think about the fact that you can't really put candles in fondant!
It killed me to cut into the cake, but it tasted great! I'm glad Lore is a chocoholic like me!
Tips for next time: Don't forget to use shortening. I read a bunch of different fondant instructions and only one of them mentioned greasing your work area and hands. I would have been in big trouble if I hadn't read that! I just need to be more careful about touching Rapunzels hair. It was a little greasy by the time we were done. Also, the crumb coating is key! I think I'll use a thicker layer next time because it's really the only frosting you get to eat. I'm just not a huge fan of the fondant flavor. If you are doing layers of fondant pay attention to the thickness. I should have made my bottom layer thinner. What an experience! The most important thing to remember is to have fun! It's not worth it if it's not fun!
Grandma Nettie and Aunt Lori did a great job picking out school outfits! The kids had so much fun picking out what to wear for their first day!
The cake gets it's own post? YEP! I spent more time making this cake than I did being in labor with Lorelai! (Okay, that's a little dramatic. I was only in labor for 5 1/2 hours.) This cake took about 8 hours. I know that if I had just done it all at once with no interference it would have gone a lot faster, but that's the joy of motherhood!
When I finished crumb coating the cake (at 3:00 in the morning) I needed somewhere to put it. I was so afraid the kids would get up before me (which they did) and eat the cake (luckily, they didn't) so I put it as high as I could in the most inconspicuous place I could find. See it?
The kids saw it too. Luckily, Lorelai wouldn't let Reid near it and I woke up right after they did so it stayed safe! We spent the day playing and then I spent from late afternoon to the evening mixing (I have totally converted to gel food coloring because it's awesome!), rolling, placing, and cutting the fondant. Lorelai spent a lot of time advising me during this process.
I let her help smooth the fondant because (like everyone says) fondant shows EVERY little bump. She is a multi-tasker like me! Talking to Aunt Lori while she works.
Fondant DONE!
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long hair!
It killed me to cut into the cake, but it tasted great! I'm glad Lore is a chocoholic like me!
Tips for next time: Don't forget to use shortening. I read a bunch of different fondant instructions and only one of them mentioned greasing your work area and hands. I would have been in big trouble if I hadn't read that! I just need to be more careful about touching Rapunzels hair. It was a little greasy by the time we were done. Also, the crumb coating is key! I think I'll use a thicker layer next time because it's really the only frosting you get to eat. I'm just not a huge fan of the fondant flavor. If you are doing layers of fondant pay attention to the thickness. I should have made my bottom layer thinner. What an experience! The most important thing to remember is to have fun! It's not worth it if it's not fun!
After Daddy came home it was time for presents and cake. Everyone was so excited for Lorelai!
I'm glad I left the cake on the turntable. It made everything more fun!
I think it passed the inspection!
Logan loved watching Reid.
This is what happened when I didn't put Logan down for his nap on time...
Decorating the cake. I have the cutest helpers!
Happy Birthday Logan!
Opening presents! Logan had a hard time moving from one present to another.
Grandpa and Grandma Olsen got to watch Logan open his present on the laptop from them. I love technology!
Logan is thinking "Please take this picture fast, I'm busy playing!"
Day 2: Eric went to work. The kids and I made waffles for breakfast, then packed up and headed over to say goodbye to Daddy. Lorelai had to check out Eric's work station. This is were Eric spends 40 hours of his week.
Luckily he has a Christmas tree (?!) to keep him company. It gave the kids some Christmas cheer!
After we said goodbye I thought it would be cool for the kids to see the Capitol Building. It was not cool. It was sweltering hot! We climbed and climbed until we got to the top.
I thought this would be an awesome picture opportunity.
Or not.
I did make one more effort. We started walking around the capitol, but we didn't get very far. It was just too hot. Lorelai's face really says it all. Logan was such a trooper though! He just kept smiling.
I also made the mistake of not having Reid use the bathroom before we left Eric's work. Whoops! And I left the diaper bag in the van at the bottom of the hill. I was not making that trip twice!
Evan was being a statue.
Hi Daddy! We're so glad we get to see you on a Thursday night!
All the wiggle worms together!
"Sleeping!" They're so sweet!
An hour later...
Evan won the draw and got to sleep by himself on the pull out. He had a lot of company though.
